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Friday, September 16, 2011

peaches, hold the cream

Today I put on a sweater, and it made me happy. Although we were deprived of a full summer this year, I absolutely love fall. School is back in session. This means a few uninterrupted hours during the day to work in my home office. Between evening dance and yoga classes, my daughter’s homework and my husband’s wacky work schedule, evening time together during the week is brief. I love preparing healthy meals, especially when they are simple, delicious and quick. I also love using local, fresh ingredients whenever I can. Actually, I consider myself to be a bit of a fresh food snob, equating my attitude and cooking style with that of Jamie Oliver.

Yes, I just used 'I love' three times in that above paragraph.

I have many friends who work in a structured office environment 40+ hours a week. Personally, I have no clue how they do it and also eat relatively healthy. Juggling household chores and client work (for those of you who don’t know, I also run a graphic design business) can be stressful at times, yet I feel so blessed to have a flexible schedule. A schedule that allows me to shop for and cook healthy meals for my family. It makes me feel we are wealthy in ways that no amount of money ever could.

I may or may not have purchased too many peaches at a local stand last week. After the peachy bread pudding was devoured, there were still a few peaches innocently lying in wait in my kitchen. This savory pork tenderloin was easy, delicious and after leaving it to marinade for seven hours, quick to make. Summer is ending, but I’m not ready to put the outside grill to bed. In fact, I’m not opposed to grillin’ in the rain.

This Peachy Canyon zinfandel was great in the marinade, and even better out.

Sauté chopped onion and sugar in olive oil until onion is slightly golden, about 6 minutes. Stir in wine, soy sauce, balsamic, ginger, cinnamon and pepper. Cook for another minute or two. Remove from heat and cool completely. Place pork and one cup of the sauce into a gallon sized resealable plastic bag. Seal tight and place into the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight. Turn it occasionally. Place the remaining sauce in a covered container and refrigerate.

Meanwhile, boil the remaining sauce in a heavy medium saucepan until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add chopped peaches. Stir until heated through, about 1 minute. Slice pork and arrange it on a platter. Spoon some of the sauce on top. Pass the remaining sauce separately at the table. You will want to add more of this yummy sauce!

I served this with roasted red potatoes and roasted corn on the cob. When the grill in on, I tend to throw anything and everything on it.

4 comments:

Hi Mary Ann, You don't even need to add the peaches. The sauce is pretty delicious on its own. The peaches do add a chunkiness and sweetness I enjoyed, although the other members of my family didn't love the fruit.

I do love pork and fruit combos, and that sauce looks divine! My neghbor recently did up some savory fig relish that I used on pork cutlets, that was an extremely pleasant experience for the taste buds.